Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza and release hostages following 15 months of war.
This is according to mediators Qatar and the United States of America, which on Thursday said that the agreement is expected to come into effect on Sunday as long as it is approved by the Israeli cabinet.
Israel had on Thursday morning delayed a cabinet vote on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, blaming Hamas for reneging on parts of the agreement.
“Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last minute concessions.
“The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a statement on Telegram shortly afterward that Hamas “is committed to the ceasefire agreement that was announced by the mediators.”
The Israeli cabinet was expected to meet Thursday to vote on the highly anticipated ceasefire and hostage release deal that was agreed between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday.
Following the news, many Palestinians and Israeli hostages’ families celebrated the new development, but there was no letup in the war on the ground in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported Israeli air strikes killed more than 20 people following the Qatari announcement.
They included 12 people who were living in a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, it said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
Qatar’s prime minister called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal, which he said would see 33 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east away from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to “sustainable calm” – will start on the 16th day.
The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take years – and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.
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